William j



(No Model.)

W. J. HULFORD 8v T. P. WALSH.

LOOM HARNESS.

No. 323,421. Patented Aug. 4, 1885.

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VILLIAM J. HULFORD AND THOMAS i?. VALSH, `OF LAVRENOE, M ASS.

LO OM HAIRIN E SS.

SPECIFBSCATION formingvpart-of ,Letters Patent No.323,421, dated Augustd, 1885.

Application led November 24, 1884.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that we, WILLIAM J. HULFORD make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in whieh- Figure i is a side elevation of our improvedloonrharness; Fig. 2, a vertical section ci' the same; Fig. 8, atop planview; Fig. 4, a view of one of the links or holders detached; Fig. 5, aperspective view of one of the sliding catches detached; Fig. 6, a likeview of one of the hooks, and Fig. 7 a view of one end of one of therods.-

Likeletters of refercnceindicate corresponding parts in the differentfigures oi' the drawings.

rPhe nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understoodby all conversant with such matters from the following explanation.

In the drawings, A represents the top rail;

, B,the bottom rail, and C D the end rails, these parts constituting thebody or frame of the harness. A mortise, m, is formed in the inner edgeof each end rail near the rails A B, and disposed in these mcrtisesthere are two dat rods, E, .respectively provided on their outer edgesnear each end with notches a: for receiving the pins d, which areinserted transversely in the end pieces, C D. The mortisem in the upperend of the rail D is provided with a slot, i, opening outwardly from itsbottom through the edge of said rail, the mortise m in the lower end ofsaid rail being also provided with a corresponding slot, these slotsserving to admit the rods E to said mortises, and also to the mortisesin the rail C.

The hook H has a flat body, provided with an elongated slot, It, nearits center, and is inserted in a vertical slot (not shown) through thecenter of the rail A, being kept from cscoping from the slot in the railby means of a pin, k, which passes transversely through the rail andthrough the slot h in the body of the hook, the rail B being providedwith a corre- (No model.)

spending hook, H, and pin 7i', arlanged in substantially the same manneras those inthe rail A. Each of the hooksH is provided near oneend with anotch, r, and downwardly-projecting lip Z, and fitted to slide on thetop of the rail A there is a catch, J, having an outwardly-projectingdang-e or thumb-piecej, at one end, and provided with a depression, z,at the other. The body of the catch is also provided with an elongatedslot, b, the catch be ing held in position on the rail by'means ofscrews c, which pass through said slot into the rail.

The holder M is composed of a single piece of elastic wire bent to formthe body w,i`or receiving the rod E, and having the outwardlyturnedhooks a o, to which the wire heddles N, having the eyes g, are attached.

In the use of our improvement the upper hook H is dropped to its fullestextent, and the upper rod E partially withdrawn from the frame throughthe -slot i, leading into the upper mortise, m. A suitable number of theholders M are then slipped onto the rod with their hooks a downward,after which it is reinserted in the upper mortises, m. The upper hook His then drawn up, engaging the rod E and elevating it until the pins denter its notches fo, after which the slide J is moved horizontally enthe rail A to draw its end n, into the notch r in the hook H, and causethe lip Z to fall into the depression z, therebylocking the slide androd E in position. Aseries of holders, M, arranged with their hooks a.upwardly, are then strung on the lower rod E in substantially the samemanner as described for the holders on the upper rod, after which theheddles N are attached to the upper and lower holders and a strain iapplied to all the heddles by forcing the lower rod E down to itsfullest extent and securing it by means of the lower hook H and slide J,in a manner which will be readily obvious without amore explicitdescription.

The holders may be strung on the upper or lower rod E first, aspreferred, and twine heddles may be used instead of the wire heddies, ifdesired. The rods E yield or spring sufficiently to permit theprojecting lips l to enter the depressions a, and act to keep them therewhen once inserted in said depressions. Equivalent means may, however,be employed ICO to lock the slide J, if desired, as We do not confineourselves to the specialmeans shown.

It Will be obvious that when one of the heddles N breaks or wears out anew one may be readily inserted by lowering the upper or raising thelower rod E, to slacken the Wires; also, that when one of the holders Mbecomes broken or Worn out a new one may be readily substituted andwithout removing the rod E, if desired, as its hooks a niay be sprungapart sufficiently to permit the rod to enter the body of the holder.

The pins d and notches x serve to center the rods E, and thereby keepthem in the same relative position to each other.

The heddles N may be attached to both the upper and lower holders, M ifdesired, before the holders are strung on the rods E, and said holdersmay be provided with one hook a, in stead of two, if preferred.

Having thus explained our invention, what We claim is 1. The combinationof a heddle-frame provided With mortises in its end rails, heddlerodsthe ends of which are free in said mortises, said rods being providedwith notches near their opposite ends, pins passing through said endrails and engaging saidnotched heddle-rods, heddles connected to saidheddlerods, and hooks for retaining said heddle-rods in engagement withsaid pins, substantially as described. y

2. The combination of the heddle-frame, the rod E, the hook H, havingthe lip Z, and a slide, J, provided with depression a, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination of the heddle-franie,the rod E, the hook, H, and theslide J, for locking said hook, substantially as described.

WILLIAM J. HULFORD. THOMAS P. WALSH. Vitnesses:

JOHN l?. SWEENEY, ARTHUR SWEENEY.

